The new Kentucky Fried Chicken/ A&W restaurant at 31st Street and Colorado Avenue is expected now to open no later than August.
Al Schlosser, general superintendent for project contractor MCM Inc., said there were a few early delays in accomplishing utility connections, but these have been
mostly solved, and work should go relatively fast now. Construction of the new building was taking shape this week and the structure will be complete - other than
mostly façade work - by this weekend, he said.
The old KFC, believed to have been built at the site in the early '70s, was razed in April. The hope at that time had been for a 90-day turnaround for the new store,
which will also serve A&W food and beverages.
Schlosser said the current expectation is to have the construction done by the first week in August, at which time the facility will be turned over to KFC for a 10-day
worker training period before opening it to the public. The project will be “turnkey,” he added, meaning that when MCM leaves, the required Colorado Avenue
widening (to allow full right turns in front of the store), as well as new sidewalk and site landscaping, will also be in place.
At 3,600 square feet, the new KFC/ A&W will be about 10 percent larger than the previous restaurant, according to plans, and employ more than twice as many
people.